Random cars we like

This was my carriage for a trip to the Queens Square Breakfast Club at Castle Combe. It was not my car but I was kindly taken by Andy Williams. It was a beautiful morning, and turned out to be sunny all day which made a pleasant change to the awfulness of the last few days. All sorts of cars were there for us to see, everything from a McLaren to an ageing Peugeot 206.

Some lovely VW campers.

Two stunning Ferrari 458s

A Tesla X with its amazing gull wing doors.

A Lambo in mellow yellow.

But my heart was drawn to these lovely Porsches. I could not decide which I would take home if I had to choose. Fortunately I didn’t have to. A great day out with lots to see.

As a treat now that all the work at home is done we joined up with the Welsh Mini Group for their Raglan meet. It was a gorgeous morning, bright and crisp and driving to the rendezvous was a joy with the bright autumn colours. Our meeting point was The Steel Horse Cafe which is a favourite with bikers in mid Wales. We started with hot drinks enjoyed outside in the sunshine while we chatted. We then moved inside for breakfast.

This is no greasy spoon with everything from a variety of baked goodies including muffins to a full English or pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. The Cafe was warm and decorated with biking photos, boxes for storing helmets and a cosy wood burner. Once we had finished we had a short run to Raglan Castle where we parked up for photos. It was becoming cloudy and the sunshine had by now given way to a bitterly cold wind, so it wasn’t an ideal day for seeing the castle. As we were both cold we soon took off for home. It was great to have a catch up with the lovely people on WMG.

While CooperBeast is no longer at Beastie Folly his new owners have very definitely decided to keep him a member of the 500 club. He now sports new 500 plates that also reflect the family surname and they display his name “CooperBeast” along the bottom of the plate. The 500 roof decals remain in place too. It means a lot to us that his heritage is not being forgotten. Just as you shouldn’t change the name of a boat perhaps if a car has a name that should not change either. Or maybe in this case CooperBeast over the years has just made that name his own. He really is looking fantastic in the flesh and his adventures and escapades will continue to appear on here.

Saturday had been a busy day for us and Sunday turned out to be more of the same.

We got up at school time and were out of the door at 8.30 in order to be at Reading MINI for a get together with fellow MINI fanatics at an event organised by LUXE MINI.

We have made a lot of new friends in the MINI community as a direct result of being in the Welsh MINI group and we enjoy meeting these people once again as well as old, old friends from the MINI scene such as Andy, who now rides a wicked looking black F56 MINI JCW. Coffee, tea, pastries and burgers were provided by LUXE MINI, which was very kind of them, as they did all they could to ensure it was an enjoyable day for everyone. In truth beautiful sunshine all day ensured this.

Saturday afternoon saw us at Prescott Hill Climb for an American Classic Event.

Unfortunately the weather was not brilliant with spells of lovely sunshine mixed with periods of rain. We walked about and in truth there were not that many American Classics on show. However, there was an eclectic mix of cars that allowed Chrissie to grab a few interesting photographs. Continue reading →

MINI will travel to the Paris Auto Show to introduce the JCW version of the second-generation Clubman.

The John Cooper Works Clubman is powered by the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that’s both turbocharged and direct-injected and makes 228 horsepower from 5, 200 to 6,000 rpm and 258 pound-feet of torque from 1,450 all the way up to 4, 500 rpm. The turbo four spins all four wheels via MINI’s All4 all-wheel drive system and either a six-speed manual transmission or an eight-speed automatic.

The 3,400-pound JCW Clubman hits 60 mph from a standing start in six seconds dead regardless of which transmission it’s equipped with, and it goes on to a top speed of 147 mph. The extra power is complemented by a JCW-specific suspension that’s lower and stiffer than standard on the rest of the Clubman range, a sport exhaust, and Brembo brakes all around. An adaptive suspension is available at an extra cost should you require that little bit more from the suspension.

The JCW stands out from a regular Clubman thanks to a full body kit that includes a new front bumper with bigger air dams and side skirts, as well as 18-inch alloy wheels and dual chromed exhaust tips. Nonetheless it is a tasteful rather than an in your face body kit, suiting the overall new Clubman ethos very well. MINI has also upgraded the cabin with sport seats for the front passengers and matching fabrics on the rears.

The 2017 MINI John Cooper Works Clubman will go on sale nationwide in December. Pricing information will be announced in the weeks leading up to its on-sale date.

This would work perfectly in the Beastmaster stable, the problem being we don’t want to let go of anything we have to make room for it. We simply love it though.